Light Up Night in the Burgh

Once again...Light Up Night. It was touch and go for awhile due to the snow and freezing temperatures (23 degrees and 20 mph winds), but I ended up hanging out at the West End Overlook to try and get some pics of the city. After an hour of standing outside, there was no way I was going to make it for the fireworks. My hands were so frozen, that I could barely curl my fingers around the steering wheel on the way home without experiencing pain. Nonetheless, these are a few shots that I got. Not too bad, but would have been more dramatic with fireworks. Oh well, there's always the fireworks on New Year's Eve.

If You Missed This Sunrise...

Whoa...if you missed this sunrise on October 24, 2008, at around 7:10 a.m., you surely missed a great one! I haven't seen a sunrise like this one in a long time. But, then again, I'm always really busy at 7:10 in the morning. Ally was waiting for her school bus when she sent me a text saying that I should be outside taking pictures. I looked out the window and literally couldn't believe my eyes! It just so happened that this magnificent display of orange and bright yellow occurred on a Friday. Since I am lucky enough not to work on Fridays, I threw on a pair of jeans, grabbed a coat, and my camera and drove as fast as I possibly could to the top of a hill where we live. I took 29 photos over the course of about 8 minutes. Here is a sample of what I got. Enjoy!

A Frolic in Frick Park

It was a beautiful fall day in Pittsburgh-not too hot and just on the brink of being cold for me. The trees were adorned with an abundance of leaves in varying shades of yellow and red. It was a great day for going out and taking pictures. Ally wasn't too thrilled about going along with her parents, especially to do something that required actual physical activity, but with a little reluctance and a lot of urging from her dad, she came along. I have never actually gone into Frick Park, let alone hiked through it. It's strange when you discover new places right in your back yard, especially after living here as long as I have. This is a park basically right in the middle of Pittsburgh, and once there, you would never know you were inside of a city. Here are some photos that Mike took while we were frolicking in the park.

KILL HANNAH - LIVE AT MR. SMALL'S

We went to see Kill Hannah on Saturday at Mr. Small's. The show was incredible. Ally was so excited to see one of her most favorite bands. I can only say that she has excellent taste when it comes to music! We got there early so Ally and her friends (Casey, Gina, Erikka and Grace) could get in the front row. We waited for the doors to open, and they took off right up to the front of the stage. I was so happy for them. Ally got to touch Matt and sing into the mic at the show. We managed to get Mike's camera into the show, but as soon as he went to take some pics, security came up and told him to shut the camera off. That was certainly disappointing, but we managed to get a few pics after the show while the girls were getting autographs.

Learning How to Take Pictures

I had a great experience this past Tuesay when Mike and I attended a Shoot-N-Learn with David Burke - an exquisite photographer who is kind enough to share his wealth of knowledge and expertise. The subject was off-camera lighting. Here's a sample of what I captured.